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The life of William Blake
The life of William Blake [Jan 01, 1971] Wilson, Mona …
415 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1971
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October 8, 2022
This isn’t really a biography, more an extended dissertation on Blake’s work – a lot of it is devoted to exposition and explanation of the ‘prophetic books’. The treatment of his childhood is brief but I don’t mind that; so also is that of his marriage, although it seems like an interesting relationship and, intriguingly for those days, they didn’t have any kids. You have to wait till near the end for a description of Blake’s appearance and manner, and for any private balance to the didactic, humourless tone he tended to adopt in his publications. Was he a prophet and mystic? Or just a polemicist and iconoclast? Certainly Wilson doesn’t persuade me that the immense labour of tackling the prophecies is worthwhile - she doesn't herself seem entirely sure that it is.
TS Eliot suggested that Blake could have been as great as Dante if, like Dante, he had had a solid spiritual philosophy behind him, instead of feeling he had to make up his own. Maybe Blake’s prophecies are not so much his strength as his misfortune. However, Dante couldn’t draw; and I think Blake’s legacy of visual art is his most enduring as well as his most accessible. It’s unfortunate that this book doesn’t include any illustrations; but these days, with the internet available, it’s not an irreparable loss.
Maybe there simply isn’t enough evidence on Blake to write a real life story. If so, then it was better for Wilson not to write it than to make one up as some in her place would do. But whatever the case, having read this, Blake as a person remains frustratingly elusive.
TS Eliot suggested that Blake could have been as great as Dante if, like Dante, he had had a solid spiritual philosophy behind him, instead of feeling he had to make up his own. Maybe Blake’s prophecies are not so much his strength as his misfortune. However, Dante couldn’t draw; and I think Blake’s legacy of visual art is his most enduring as well as his most accessible. It’s unfortunate that this book doesn’t include any illustrations; but these days, with the internet available, it’s not an irreparable loss.
Maybe there simply isn’t enough evidence on Blake to write a real life story. If so, then it was better for Wilson not to write it than to make one up as some in her place would do. But whatever the case, having read this, Blake as a person remains frustratingly elusive.
Displaying 1 of 1 review